If you had asked me before this day about baking a cake, I would have replied "Sure, out of a box." But not anymore. After lingering over the wonderful cakes and desserts by Archana, Pushpa and Meeta, and many more I baked a cake - from scratch!I wanted to bake a cake for Aswin. After thinking and searching some more for an easy recipe, I decided to make a chocolate cake for him. Along with cocoa powder I also put in chunks of chocolate from a bar I bought at Trader Joe's and hazelnuts. It was topped with whipped cream frosting. Even the whipped cream was not out of a box. And whoever said "mehnat ka phal meetha" is right. It was delicious.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup chocolate pieces
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter
1 1/4 tspoon baking soda
pinch of baking powder
1/4 tspoon cinnamon powder
For Frosting
2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
Method:
Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder.Beat butter, sugar and eggs seperately and add it slowly into the flour mix.
Add the milk, chocolate and nuts to the mix.
Heat the oven to 350 F. Butter two 9-inch cake pans- base and side.
Pour the batter equally in the two pans. Smooth the surface.
Bake till the tester (mine was a toothpick) comes out clean. It takes about 30-40 minutes depending on pan and the oven.
Let the cakes cool completely before frosting.
In the meantime, whip the heavy cream with strawberries and sugar till stiff peaks form.
Layer it generously on the lower cake. Put the second cake on top and fold the rest of the cream on top and on the sides.
I even tried piping designs and decorated with choclate shavings and fresh fruit. It's pretty basic but I was so excited and Aswin loved it!
Refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.This is going to Meeta at What's for Lunch Honey for Monthly Mingle # 6 - Give Thanks.
Special thanks go out to my friends and family for the support, encouragement and unconditional love.
Posts
Great Cake Mandira...
ReplyDeleteI am "out of a box" cake baker tooo..they are so easy & quick.
But now that you say this is much better..maybe I should give it a try.
But doesn't it take a lot of time to get the stuff ready ?
Can you give the pros & cons of the boxed & non-boxed (oops oops sounds like a SW interview question ;-)) methods ?
Heyee! Aswin's back ha? Good for you.:) This cake looks yummy.Do you know I finished the cake you had baked for my bday all by myself? :O
ReplyDeleteReally Mandira,mehnat ka phal meetha hota hai, the cake looks delicious.saving into my fav. list.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sandeepa. What I really liked about baking from scratch is that I can control the butter, sugar and eggs that goes into it. It does take little more prep time, but totally worth it if you ask me. Do give it a try.
ReplyDeleteSqrl/ta- Thanks. No you didn't finish it yourself. I helped you, remember :)
Thanks Lakshmi- It did turn out really good. Since it was my first time, I was a little nervous.
hi madira,
ReplyDeletethis is a feast to eyes and heart:)
yummmmyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
cheers
Mandira, Thank you for your sweet comment. I was honored. This looks so rich and divine. Lovely and just perfect for saying thanks- THANKS so where is your cake? LOL!
ReplyDeleteYummy, Mandira! Thanks .
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend:)
That's a girl !!! See, now you know how easy this is. Chocolate, hazelnut and whipped cream, what a happy combination. Thank you for the sweet mention Mandira.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you dont get my first Comment,anyways.
ReplyDeletethe cake looks delightful with the frosting ,oh so ready to eat , gerat work done.thanks
regards
Mantu
I meant the other part i took home to 'share with my roommates'.. no sharin took place :)
ReplyDeletescrumptious!
ReplyDeletePaz
WOW that is YUM!
ReplyDeletewow mandira your cake looks decadent. The final outcome is always worth the effort you put in. :)
ReplyDeleteHey..... lovely cake..... don't we all try shorcuts and just bake out of ready to make packets..... I think thhis was just the right nudge that was needed. :) Thanks for sharing. :)
ReplyDeletewww.mykhazanaofrecipes.wordpress.com
Sia - Thanks. I am so glad that the first trial was a success.
ReplyDeleteMeeta- I drool over your cakes and desserts. Sorry, the cake disappeared in a couple of days :) Will make another one soon.
Thanks Asha.
Archana - Thanks for all the wonderful desserts! They are wonderful to look at and inspiring. Will try your black forest cake next :)
Mantu - Thank you. I have to restrain myself from biting into it before I finished frosting the cake ;)
Sqrl/ta - LOL. I'm glad you enjoed it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Paz.
Sri - Thanks. This final outcome was great. But I have had incidents with outcomes before!
Rooma- Thanks. Now that my first tentative step worked, I think I am ready to try baking another cake. No more boxes for me. :)
WOW!!!! Thumbs up girl. The cake looks superb. Well done to u.
ReplyDeleteHi Mandira. Thanks for visiting my blog. And nice name by the way.
ReplyDeleteNice cake! I will try it once I buy an oven :)
Looks so good! I am stretching out both my hands to dig into that cake. No, I don't need a fork. :)
ReplyDeletePuspha - Thanks. It did get me some rave reviews :)
ReplyDeleteTweety - Thanks and welcome to ahaar. As I am learning, baking can be fun! Do try in your new oven.
Hurry RP, it's going fast. :)
Hi Mandira, your cake looks fabulous! It *is* exciting when you're serving something you made from scratch. I haven't tackled cake yet, but who knows, yours is a great inspiration :)
ReplyDeleteholy moly ...man this looks sooooooooooo deserty and yummy ...nicey presented too ...
ReplyDeleteCheers
Seema
Linda - Thanks. Yes, I was nervous and excited at the same time. You've baked delicious breads, cake is the next step ;)
ReplyDeleteSeema - LOL Thanks. It did taste delicious.